Swordsmen of Twilight
by Oturan Namikaze
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki Kayaba, the adopted younger brother of Akihiko Kayaba and the one of the first Beta Testers of Sword Art Online. Watch as he journeys through the 100 Floors of Aincrad with his friends and allies to defeat his older brother and put an end to this death game. Naruto's pairing is undecided, but there is a poll on my profile.


**_Disclaimer: I do not own either Naruto or Sword Art Online. Those rights belong to both Masashi Kishimoto and Reki Kawahara respectively. I also don't own any other anime or video games, its characters, names, abilities, or and other references that might appear in this story. And so, without delay… Sit back, relax and enjoy the story._**

People speaking: "I refuse to turn a blind eye."

People thinking: _'If I die in the game, I die for real.'_

Creatures/Admin speaking: "**Welcome to my world.**"

Notices/Messages/Pop-ups: '_This message will now self-destruct.'_

Techniques/Floor Titles:**"****Spiraling Overdrive!"**

**Chapter 1 – Into a New World**

He needed to get away, he needed to keep running… That was the only thing going through the five year old boy's mind and body at the moment as he ran down the street away from a giant mob, having a bit of trouble due to the large kunai knife in his leg. He had spiky sun-kiss blonde hair, a tanned complexion and three whisker-like marks on each cheek of his face. This boy's name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, also known as the container of the Kyuubi, a giant nine tailed fox that attacked Konohagakure the very day the boy was born.

It hadn't been a coincidence of it occurring on that day, because Naruto's mother Kushina Uzumaki had been the previous Jinchūriki and female containers all had one major weakness when they had a Bijū sealed within them… childbirth. All of her chakra and focus was on the life that she would be bringing into the world, meaning that the seal holding the Kyuubi back would weaken and the beast would escape. Which is why her husband Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage and leader of the shinobi village was focusing on keeping her seal in check. What people do not know about that night however is that someone had interrupted the newly made parent's happy moment after Naruto had been born, taking the boy temporarily hostage before taking Kushina away to release the Kyuubi. The destruction created by the chakra beast had devastated the land and destroyed a large part of the village. It had killed many shinobis and civilians before it had been stopped by Minato and Kushina, who sacrificed their lives in order to seal the Kyuubi away and save their son from being killed.

But even though the monster had been defeated it did not quell the anger that many of the survivors felt towards the fox, which pointed all of their hatred at Naruto. While there was a large handful of people who accepted Naruto as the container for the Kyuubi and nothing else, the larger percentage believed he was the fox reborn in human form and were calling for the baby's death. Minato's predecessor, Hiruzen Sarutobi the Sandaime Hokage had decreed that Naruto was not to be harmed and anyone who spoke about the Kyuubi being sealed within him would be executed. But unfortunately his words alone weren't enough to stop the villagers from abusing Naruto in any way that they could. What they were doing now was prime example of their torment as this was one of their mob hunts, were they would beat Naruto for as long as they could before the Anbu would show up.

"GET BACK HERE DEMON!" One of the shinobis in the mob shouted as they threw several more kunai at Naruto's legs, making the boy fall over from the impact.

Naruto tumbled a few times before landing on his stomach, tears falling down his face as he tried to move. However his legs wouldn't respond to his commands at all due to the blows from the kunai knives paralyzing his legs. But that didn't stop Naruto as he put all the strength he could in his little arms to continue moving forward, but one of the civilians slammed his foot hard and painfully into Naruto's back and slammed the five year old into the ground. "P-Please, just leave me alone!"

"Shut up you demon-brat! You have no right to make any request, you should have died all those years ago when you attacked the village!" The villager snapped back as he grinding his foot painfully into the boy's spine.

"Yeah, you deserve to suffer for what you did to us!"

"Let's make him pay!"

_'Someone… please… I don't wanna die... PLEASE HELP ME!'_ Naruto closed his eyes as the man standing over him was raising his weapon over his head, before swinging it down as hard as he could. But just as the club was about to hit Naruto, a glowing seal in the shape of a spiral appeared on his back before several chains erupted from it and impaled the man through the chest. The villager didn't have time to register what was happening as the chains continued to move and tossed the man away, and moved around Naruto in a circular pattern.

"Naruto!" An elderly man wearing a red and white robe called out as he and a large group of masked shinobi known as Anbu landed several feet away, this man was Hiruzen Sarutobi the Sandaime Hokage. The concerned look on the man's face was the last thing Naruto saw before he lost conscious. But that didn't stop the chains as they continued to glow brighter and brighter before tightening around Naruto's body and with a blinding flash of light Naruto disappeared, leaving behind a large scorch mark on the ground.

"Hokage-sama, what was that? What happened to Naruto!?" A young silver-haired Anbu asked as he took a hesitant step, his sensei's son had just vanished without a trace. The older man was quiet for a few minutes before slowly shaking his head.

"… Minato and Kushina must've left a delayed seal on Naruto, those two always liked to make sure they were prepared for any situation." Sarutobi deduced as he held his head down with a pain-filled expression, "Since Kushina had been the Kyuubi's previous Jinchūriki, she would know more than anyone the horrible life that awaited Naruto… I am ashamed to admit her beliefs came true."

"We must get him back as soon as possible Hiruzen! We cannot afford to lose our weapon!" A bandaged man, around the same age as Sarutobi, said as he tightened the grip he had on his cane.

"You will address me as Hokage-sama, Danzo." Sarutobi snapped his gaze towards the man and the two people behind him, the two being Sarutobi's old teammates and advisors Homura and Koharu. "And I'm afraid that there isn't anything we can do now… not unless we want to send our shinobis to their deaths."

"What do you mean Hokage-sama?" Another Anbu, this one female with long purple hair and a cat mask, questioned as she looked at the scorched spot that Naruto had previously been.

"The seal that Minato and Kushina used was a Jikūkan Ninjutsu, it is not only impossible to know where they sent him but it is also dangerous for the people traveling though." Sarutobi explained as he tipped his hat, "From what they had told me, if the caster isn't with the person who is traveling through dimensions then it is basically a one-way trip. And not only that… there is a strong possibility that they could \ lose their chakra as soon as they get there or in the worst case scenario… die."

"So you are saying that we've lost the Kyuubi forever!?" Several of the villagers began to cheer, but were quickly put to a halt as a large amount of killer intent filled the air.

The killer intent belong to Sarutobi, who was giving almost everyone in the area a death glare. "Anbu! Arrest all of the villagers and shinobi here and bring them to Ibuki! They will all be executed tomorrow in the morning!" Many were taken aback by his words and voices of protests filled the air as the all of the Hokage's Anbu platoon followed his orders, which several including the cat-masked Anbu, a weasel-masked Anbu and the silver-haired Anbu was more than happy to follow, and began taking them away. The old man turned his back to everyone as he walked towards the spot Naruto had disappeared from, speaking up before anyone could say anything. "They broke my laws and used up their second chances, now they will face the consequences of their actions. I am the Hokage and my word is law… Now leave me."

While Homura and Koharu silently looked at each other before nodding their heads and started to walk away, Danzo was silently calculating in his head as he too turned around and made his way out of the area. '_This would have never happened if I had been Hokage. Now I must find a way to retrieve the Kyuubi from whatever dimension it ended up in, otherwise the village will be powerless against our enemies...'_

Back with Sarutobi, as soon as the old man could no longer sense anyone in the area he finally let his tears fall. "Forgive me Minato, Kushina. I was unable to protect your son like I had promised. Naruto, wherever you are my boy… I hope you live a much happier life then you could have ever had here."

(In Another Dimension)

Naruto could hear the familiar sound of beeping as he started to open his eyes, expecting to see himself in one of the Konoha Hospital rooms. But once he had fully opened his eyes he noticed he was in an unfamiliar room. It was definitely different from what he was used to, for one thing this room was a lot cleaner than the ones they usually gave him, and looking to the side he saw a several large machine-like things that he didn't recognize, and that was saying something from the many times he had been to the hospital.

Turning his head a bit, Naruto could hear the muffled sounds of people talking outside the door to his room. "From what we can tell… malnourishment, a few broken…stab wounds… lost a large amount of blood… Most of them… healed completely, however… won't recover…"

Naruto could hear more muffled voices speak, and the sound of someone, a woman by the sound of it, crying. "Who… do such a… innocent boy?"

Shaking his head a little, he started to raise his upper body up as much as he could before flinching from the pain he felt in his legs… wait a minute… with fear building up in his body Naruto tried to move one of his legs… and then the other… but to his great dismay he couldn't move either of them. He threw off the covers and saw that his legs were completely covered in bandages. Tears started to build up in his eyes as he continued to try and move his legs, but no matter how much he tried they wouldn't move. Naruto had started to get desperate as he struggled to move his body around in the bed, but ended up falling off the mattress and hitting the floor. Some of the wirings and needles from different pouches detached from his body, which caused a few more sounds to occur and alarms to go off. The door slammed open to reveal a doctor in a white lab coat rush into the room followed by three other people, two of them were middle-aged while the last one was a teenager, who was paying attention to his book more than anything.

"Hold on, you shouldn't be trying to move so soon." The doctor said as he tried to help Naruto back onto the bed, but the young blonde fought out of the man's grip and struggled to get away from the man.

"Get away, I don't want to get hurt anymore!" Naruto cried out as he pressed himself against a wall.

"Relax son, no one here is going to hurt you." The second older man said as he held his hands up to show the boy his empty hands. "All we want to do is help you."

"LIAR!" Naruto shouted as he clenched his tiny hands into fists, "People are always trying to hurt me, saying that I should be dead! Why should I believe any of you-" Naruto was cut off as the woman immediately appeared in front of him and pull him into a tight hug.

At first Naruto tried to escape out of the woman's grasp, but she held strong. "… You poor boy… I promise we won't do anything to hurt you." Naruto was surprised on how kind and warm her words were, as well as the strange feeling he was getting from whatever she was currently doing. After a few minutes Naruto finally calmed down enough for the adults to place him back on his bed. The woman was sitting in one of the chairs next to the bed and holding one of his hands, to which he was staring at with confusion and slight fear.

The teenager from before had noticed this from his place against one of the walls on the opposite side of the room, _'It's like no one's ever held his hand before.'_

"My name is Keitaro Kayaba and this is my wife Akiko, the boy over there is my son Akihiko." Keitaro said as he introduced his family to the boy, who looked back and forth to all the people in the room. Keitaro was an older man with long black hair and glasses over his brown eyes while Akiko had light-brown hair and calming blue eyes. "We had found you earlier badly injured in the middle of the road with those strange knives in your legs."

"… I'm used to that, the adults usually do a lot worse to me before they get bored and walk away before anyone shows up." Naruto answered while turning his head to look away, "It's been like that since I had been kicked out of the orphanage."

"Kicked out?!" Akiko repeated with an edge in her voice, she couldn't imagine the kind of monsters that would just attack an innocent boy and let alone leave him so injured he couldn't move. Since she was a mother it was hard to stomach such an idea… and that's when she realized the last thing he had said, "… So your parents are...?"

"… I never met them… a lot of people were saying that my parents abandoned me when they found out I was a demon or that they were dead." Tears fell down Naruto's face as he gripped the blankets now covering his legs. "B-But I-I never believed t-the first one though… my family would never h-hate me… right?"

"Of course sweetie, I'm positive they never hate you." Akiko said in a soothing voice as she brushed her thumb on the back of Naruto's hand, trying to comfort the boy as best as she could, "As a mother I can definitely say that they loved you."

"So tell me Naruto, do you have any relatives or someone living with you? Someone we can get in contact with to let them know where you are and about your condition." The doctor questioned as he looked down at the medical chart the hospital had created for Naruto, since there was no records for him in any system.

Naruto only shook his head as he tried rubbed out the tears on his face, "No one… there was the old man when he visited me but I don't really see him that much. I live all by myself…"

Akiko, Keitaro and the doctor all looked at each other before Akiko spoke up, "Naruto sweetie, the three of us are going to go out into the hallway for a second to talk about a few things. In the meantime, Akihiko will be here to keep you company." The teenager perked up at what his mother said, before slowly nodding his head in agreement when she turned to look at him. The three adults in the room quickly made their way outside, leaving Naruto and Akihiko in the room alone.

Naruto and Akihio stared at each other quietly for a few seconds, before the teenager looked at Naruto and silently studied his condition, taking in what the doctors had said about the blond suffering from malnutrition and the injuries in his legs. Naruto studied the teen and took in his appearance, Akihiko looked to be in his late teens and he looked like a younger version of Keitaro with short dark brown hair and brown eyes and was wearing a black clothing. The younger boy's gaze went down to the object in Akihiko's hands before speaking up, "What's that thing?"

"Hmm?" Akihiko looked down at the book he had closed earlier, "It's a book… you know, to tell stories or give information."

"Stories!? You mean things like samurais and princesses!" Naruto asked in an excited voice. "Is it a good story?"

Akihiko let out a laugh, "Yeah, I guess you could say that. But this book here is a little more complicated than that, but it does have a good plot to it."

"Plot?" Naruto tilted his head with a curious expression, which gave him the appearance of a fox thanks to his whiskers. "What's that?"

"A plot is the main events of the story, it makes it interesting to the reader." Akihiko explained as he moved away from the wall and sat on the bed next to Naruto, handing him the book. "If the plot to a story isn't good, it can get really boring for the person whose reading it."

"What are these weird lines?" Naruto asked as he pointed to the back of the book.

"That is a summary, it helps get people interested in reading… I'm surprised you don't know how to read, most kids your age already know a few words." The teenager commented, which caused Naruto to gain a depressed expression on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"… It's not like I never tried… but every time I asked for help the people at the orphanage would say demons don't deserve to know anything before they threw me into the attic for days. It was a few months later that they had kicked me out saying that no sane person would want a demon for a son." Naruto's body trembled as his grip on the book and blanket tighten, Akihiko stared at the boy silently before slowly taking the book out of the boy's hand.

"Well then… how about I teach you a little bit now?" Naruto's head snapped up to see the older boy opened the book to the very first page, flashing Naruto a small smile. "It may be a little much for you, so we can take it one step at a time."

Naruto looked down from Akihiko's face to the open book, "… Thanks…"

Outside the room, Akiko watched with a warm smile as her son and Naruto talked and looked at the book. She slowly closed the door to turn and face her husband, "You already know what I am going to say, right Keitaro?"

"Of course, but are you sure you want to?" The older man questioned as he placed a hand on his hip. "We pretty much finished raising Akihiko, who is already getting approved for Universities."

"But you can see the look on that boys face, there is really no one else he could turn to… Unless you think we should abandon him." Akiko crossed her arms as she gave her husband a pointed look, who held his hands up in a surrendering motion.

"No no, I had no intention of suggesting that." Keitaro replied as he tried to calm his wife, "With the life he's gone through until now, I don't want to take the chance of something like that happening again. It would be even worse for him sense he can no longer walk."

"Good, I'm glad we agree. Now let's go back inside, can you get us the release forms Doctor?" Akiko said with a smile, to which the man nodded his head before heading off to retrieve the paperwork. After watching the man walk around the corner, the two parents reentered the room and could see Naruto was listening to Akihiko as the teenager read a few sentences from the book. The sound of the door closing made Akihiko pause and the two looked up to see that Akiko and Keitaro had reentered the room. "It certainly looks like you two were having fun."

"Yeah, Akihiko was reading me the story in this book! It's really cool with the magic and swords!" His words confused the two as they knew that the book their son was reading was about mathematics. The blank expression Akihiko made to look away from them was surprising since as far that they remembered, he had never done things like this for anyone before. While it was strange to see the high-school student act so close to Naruto, the actions did help them with confirming their decision.

"I am glad to hear that you are enjoying your time with him Naruto, because there is something that I wanted to ask you." Keitaro walked close to the bed until he was a foot away, giving Naruto a bright smile as he bent his knees a little. "I know you don't really know us that much, but my wife and I want to adopt you and make you our son. So how about it, would you like to be a part of our family?"

Naruto was shocked at what the man had said, he never thought anyone would ever say those words to him. Silently the blond looked at Akiko, who was giving him a bright smile as he recalled the warm, comforting feeling he had gotten from her before, Naruto turned his head a bit to look at Akihiko and how nice the older boy had been. Looking back at Keitaro, he could see the kindness and sincerity in his eyes, With the situations he had been through in Konoha, he had learned to detect any deceptive looks or lies, it was one of the reasons on how he managed to stay alive for so long… well that and his healing abilities which seemed to help him recover injuries overnight.

Tears started to build up once again in Naruto's eyes as he slowly nodded his head, "Y-You guys… really want me?"

"Of course we do sweetheart, but the decision is up to you." Akiko replied as she walked a little closer to the bed, "We don't want to force you to make any decisions you don't want to."

A few seconds was all that it took for Naruto to decide what he wanted, and he quickly wrapped his arms around Akiko's waist. The woman smiled as she copied his movements and wrapped the boy into a hug, while that was happening Akihiko and Keitaro watched with smiles. It looks like the family had one more member to add to the Kayaba name.

**NKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAY**

_"In 2022. Humanity has finally create a complete virtual environment. In a game called... **Sword Art Online**."_ The trailer video was blaring on a large flat screen television, before it quickly shifted to a news-like channel that was completely focused the game and the impact it was making. _"It's time for this week's MMO stream! We began with a promotion video. Was this the day of last week's launch? What with all of the people waiting in line for? Sword Art Online!"_

"It looks like the popularity for my brother's game is really going through the roof… Look at that line from coming from just one of the stores." A fifteen year old Naruto said with a smile as he sat several feet away from the television in a wheelchair. He continued to watch as more and more people talked about the game, and saw many pose with their newly purchased game and/or NerveGear. "It's great to see all of his work being enjoyed like this, right Sayoko?"

The blond turned his head to see a maid with dark brown hair and yellow eyes walk into the room with a small smile on her face. "I definitely agree Naruto-sama, and it is a good thing you already have a copy thanks to your brother, he even had you be one of its first Beta Testers." Moving over to one of the tables next to Naruto, Sayoko reached out to the tea set and poured a cup. "Would you like some tea Naruto-sama?"

"Ah... yes I would. Thank you Sayoko." Naruto replied as he turned his head to back to the screen. "I'm sorry to trouble you like this even though it's supposed to be your day off."

"It is no trouble at all Naruto-sama, Akihiko-sama is sure to be very busy with his new game and making sure everything is running smoothly. I am happy to be here to help." Sayoko bowed her head a little with a smile on her face, Naruto had always been a kind soul. She had serve a number of people before the Kayaba family, many of them had all sorts of personalities, but the later were most definitely the most pleasant that she had ever been around.

"Almost two weeks have passed and the lines to the game stores are still so long, from the looks of it they're going several blocks back." Naruto noted as he took a sip of his tea before placing it on the table next to him. "And everyone seems so excited about it."

Sayoko let out a giggle as she brought a hand to her looks, "Can you really say that you're so different from them Naruto-sama? You really enjoyed yourself during the beta testing, it was all you thought about even when you weren't in the game."

"Well of course. It wasn't just exciting to play, I got to meet a lot of people as well." Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a smile on his face. "An entire virtual world is an amazing concept in and of itself. Just thinking about all the options, Bosses, and adventures a player can do can make anyone tremble with excitement."

"Speaking of meeting a lot of people Naruto-sama," Sayoko started as she glanced at a clock resting on the wall. "Don't you have to meet up with your friend in that **Town of Beginnings** you were telling me about?"

"That's right," Naruto perked up before using the controller on his wheelchair to spin around, flashing the maid a smile as he finished turning. "I'm going in my room now Sayoko for a few hours, so you can relax if you want."

"Understood Naruto, but I want to take care of a few things before then." Sayoko stated which made Naruto frown a bit. "Enjoy your game and have fun Naruto-sama."

"Alright… just don't push yourself too much Sayoko." Naruto turned his head to face the exit as he made the wheelchair move out of the room.

He made his way down the hallway and entered his room, which was a medium size with a desk for studying and several drawers, and a very high-tech computer. Next to one of the drawers was a bookshelf that held many books, manga and video games, all neatly placed in alphabetical order. On the walls of the room were many pictures and posters, though there was one picture that was right next to the computer, it was a family photo of Naruto and his new family, taken a little after he had become a part of their family. It's hard to believe that ten years had passed since he had lost the ability to use his legs, but to him having an actually family that loved and cared for him had made up for that. Akiko and Keitaro had been the best parents he could've ever asked for and Akihiko, while distant at times, was an older brother that was always there for him when he needed it… but the happy times had a horrible turn six years later when Akiko and Keitaro died in a car accident. But even though Akihiko was in his early twenties and attending a University, that didn't stop the man from raising Naruto, though because of his work and research Akihiko had brought Sayoko into their home as a maid to assist and watch over Naruto whenever he was not able to return home. Eventually Akihiko had revealed two of his greatest projects, the NerveGear and a VRMMORPG named Sword Art Online, and during its beta testing phase Akihiko had personally asked Naruto to be one of its first testers, to which Naruto enjoyed very much.

Naruto's wheelchair rolled passed his desk and computer, grabbing his orange NerveGear, which he had personally requested when his brother was making them, and placed it on the bed. He quickly maneuvered himself from his chair onto the bed, which was very easy for him to do on his own after so many years, and manually moved his legs to lie out completely straight. A weird thing he had noticed from the many years he had been handicapped was that even though he couldn't use his legs anymore, they grew in size with him and never shrank nor had any medical problems. Another strange thing is that the wounds in his legs had completely head, leaving his legs smooth and clear of any injuries. Shaking his head a bit, Naruto picked up the helmet and put it on, before making sure everything was on. He lowered his upper body back down until he felt his head hit the pillow. He glance quickly at the inner clock within the NerveGear and smiled when he saw that it was two minutes till one o'clock.

"Perfect, I should make it to the meeting point just in time." Naruto said with a smile before taking a deep breath and closed his eyes. "… Link, start!"

As soon as he said that, a barrage of colors seemed to come flying at him as the NerveGear linked with his mind. All the automatic system checks finished quickly and his language adjuster was set to Japanese, and when all of that had finished a final pop-up appeared. _'Beta test data still available. Would you like to use it?'_ The good thing about being a beta tester was that you could keep the avatar you created for the game, which was great for those that grew attached to their characters. Naruto quickly selected yes making the pop-up fade away and new words taking its place. _'Welcome to Sword Art Online!'_

In a flash of blue light Naruto found himself in the middle of a large dome-like area, which was actually the arrival point for beginner logins to start. The city he was in was known as the **Town of Beginnings**, where like it was stated before, the place where all players start when they log into the game for the first time. But while it was a nice town with a lot of shops and social areas for beginners to meet and make friends, it was still only the first floor out of a hundred. And like any game the level of monsters, items, and weapons all went up. Naruto looked down at his now gloved covered hands, clenching them a few times before following up to his orange long-sleeve shirt and black vest. And then his gaze went down to the most important thing in his mind… his two perfectly working legs which were covered in black pants. He had a sword, a sheathed wakizashi, strapped horizontally to his lower back.

"I'm so glad to be back… in this awesome world!" Naruto cheered as he pumped his fists into air.

His avatar's appearance was majorly different from his usual one, instead of his tanned skin he was fair skinned, he had violet eyes to replace his usual azure blue, and his spike blonde hair was instead a straight fiery-red … for some reason he had really liked the color red. Every time he seemed to think about it a blurry image of a woman appeared his mind, and while there was no face or anything to match the woman to anything he had seen before, Naruto couldn't help but feel sad and happy at the same time. Naruto quickly dismissed his thoughts as he remembered that he had a meeting spot to get to, spinning around on his feet as he started to run passed several players that were logging in and talking amongst each other.

Naruto was enjoying the feeling of his legs actually working again as he ran passed several stands and booths selling a lot of weapons and armors to beginners, to him it was one of the greatest things about Full Diving into the game. He didn't pay them any mind as he turned a corner and continued to run, this was definitely one of his favorite things in the game and the one thing he missed most in real life. "I hope Kirito is already there, I want to get started as soon as we can!"

As Naruto dashed down an alleyway at full speed with a grin on his face, he almost didn't see the female player that started walking along the entrance of the alleyway, a book in her hands. He quickly tried to halt his movements so he wouldn't collide into the girl, but he was to close and he crashed into had. The girl in question snapped her head to the side just in time to see something slam into her and sent them crashing into the ground. She could feel the pressure of another body on top of her, judging by the groan the figure let out it was a male.

The girl quickly pushed the male off her with an annoyed look on her face, "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry, I was in a hurry to meet a friend of mine and I got distracted." Naruto replied, rubbing the side if his head as he shook out a few times before mumbling to himself. "I need to remember that there are more people here then last time."

"Of course there are a lot of people here, its opening day… wait, did you say last time?" The girl asked as she realized what Naruto had said before, but Naruto didn't seem to hear her question as he rose back up to his feet and patted himself off before moving over to the girl's avatar. The female avatar had long orange-brown hair and was wearing one of the beginner outfits consisting of a dark red leather tunic over a long-sleeved white shirt with her shoulders showing and white leather pants with boots up to the knees.

Quickly dismissing his thoughts Naruto held out a hand to the girl, to which she started at his hand with wary eyes before lifting her head to look up at him. "Like I said before, I didn't mean to run into you. I was in a bit of a rush to meet up with a friend of mine… Are you alright?"

"… Yeah, I'm fine." The girl replied as she reached up and grabbed Naruto's hand, before getting back to her feet. Naruto's gaze went down to the ground to where the book she had been reading before had fallen. He bent down a bit and picked up the book, examining it for a few seconds before handing it to the girl, "Thanks."

"That's one of the guide books sold for free at the item shops, right?" Naruto noted as he smiled at the girl, "A lot of work was put into that by the Beta Testers, I hope it comes in handy."

"I do too, this is my first time in a game like this so I figured I should try to find out as much as I can. Maybe if I like the game I can get one of my own," The girl said with a smile, though Naruto could see that she had her guard up a little as she talked. Which made some sense since as she said before, this was her first time playing an MMORPG, let alone one that involved Full Diving and almost fully exposing yourself to others.

"So I'm guessing that you are borrowing it? Seems a little strange with how long the lines had been to buy one of the copies." After seeing how long the lines had gotten to buy the game until today, he didn't think anyone would have turned down the chance to play on opening day. Hell, part of him didn't think twice on the chance that Akihiko would get involved in the game too, even if he was the one who created it… Speaking of which, he couldn't help but wonder why his brother didn't answer his call earlier or even call him back. _'I was hoping the two of us could've playing together, he's been so busy with his work recently..._

"Well it's actually my brother's copy," The long-haired girl explained, letting out a small laugh as she remembered the condition her brother was in after he had waited for a whole day to get the game and the NerveGear to go with it, he crashed right onto the floor of his room before he could even get a foot away from the door. "He was so excited to play it but unfortunately he had been called on business and he couldn't be here to play. I got curious and decided to give it a shot, though things are still new to me."

"Yeah, it always like that at first." Naruto said as he flashed the girl a friendly smile, which she mirrored after a few second. He held his hand out to the girl, "My names Naruto."

"I'm Asuna." The newly named Asuna replied before reaching out her own hand and shook his.

Naruto nodded his head and was about to say something, but his head perked up when he got a message alert. "Sorry Asuna, I think my friend sent me a message." Quickly swiping his hand downwards, Naruto checked his inbox and found a new message that was sent from Kirito. Apparently he was already heading to the **West Fields** with another player to show them the ropes and to meet them there. This didn't bother the redheaded avatar since he enjoyed helping out others when he could, and the fact that Kirito was the one who decided to help was great because he usually tried to keep to himself. Naruto dismissed the note and turned to look at Asuna, "It looks like he's already heading out to fight some monsters so I am going to meet him there… Did you want to come? We could help give you some tips."

"… No, its fine." Asuna politely declined with a smile, "It's only the first day so I don't have to do anything to major, right?"

"I guess that's true," Naruto turned back to his menu, which was still open, and silently did a few motions. Asuna watched in confusion before a pop-up appeared in front of her, _'Naruto wants to add you as a friend, would you like to do the same?'_ She looked between Naruto and the pop-up a few times before the redheaded male spoke up, "I know we just met and all but I do hope we can still become friends in the future, and this way if you have any questions or issues just let me know… It's your choice if you want to accept it or not, but I still hope we can meet again, this is a good place to make friends and have fun." Naruto turned around and started to walk away, waving his hand goodbye as he walked. "See ya later Asuna!"

Asuna watched as Naruto's figure walked into the large crowd of people before disappearing from her sight, she looked down at the friend request with a look of suspicion for several minutes. A little while later she shook her head with a very small smile and pushed one of the option buttons. Asuna spun on her heels and started off in the direction she had been originally going, the smile still on her face as she walked through the crowd to see all the shops in the area, _'I guess this game won't be so bad after all, I'll have to see about getting a copy for myself when there are more available in stores.'_

(Meanwhile)

Naruto was making his way to the **West Fields** when he got an alert from his menu, he opened it to see the words _'Asuna has agreed to your request, you both can now message each other and keep an eye on each other's locations.'_ Naruto shook his head with a smile as he continued to his destination, it was always great when he made new friends… He never got the chance back in Ko- Naruto quickly shook his head again as he knocked the thoughts out of his head, that**_ place_** was the last thing he ever wanted to think about.

"Hey Naruto!" A voice called out from a distance away.

He narrowed his eyes a little when he saw two figures standing near one of the trees and a small grin appeared on his face as he recognized one of them. One of them an older looking boy with back long, spiky hair, he was wearing one of the beginners outfits like his but in blue and black and he had a brown leather vest instead of black. The person next to him had long red hair and a bandana over his forehead, he was also wearing a beginner's outfit as well that was white and brown, and like Kirito he had a brown leather vest.

"Kirito, it's been a while!" Naruto shouted back with a smile as he ran up to the two, when he got close to the two Beta Testers slammed their fists together. "And thanks for switching the meeting spots on me, ya jerk!"

"Yeah, well I agreed to help this guy here with starting out. Let me introduce you guys," Kirito took a step back as looked back and forth at the two redheads. "Naruto, this is Klein. And Klein, this is my best friend and fellow Beta Tester Naruto."

"Nice to meet ya," Klein said with a grin as he gave Naruto a thumbs up. "I'm glad you and Kirito agreed to help me out, real nice of you guys."

Naruto blinked a few times before silently giving Kirito a look, who had let out a sheepish laugh while scratching his cheek. The fiery redhead let out a soft sigh before shrugging his shoulders, "Sure why not, it actually might be kind of fun. Never been a teacher before… and I might get a good show out of it."

"Great, then let's get… eh?" Klein tilted his head a bit when he realized the final thing Naruto had said, "What do you mean show?"

**NKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAY**

"Ugahhh!" Klein let out a yellow as he was rammed by a Frenzy Boar monster in between his legs and was sent flying back.

"Like I said, a good show." Naruto said with a laugh up to Klein's fallen form while Kirito let out a sigh, behind them the Frenzy Boar had turned its back to the players. When Naruto came to a stop he was standing over Klein, bending his knees a little before he spoke. "You really need to keep your guard up when you fight."

"Ugh... right in the crotch..." Klein whined as he held his crotch like he was in extreme pain. "Someone… kill me now…"

"... Gimmie a break, you don't feel any pain right?" Kirito commented while crossing his arms, his words made Klein stop as the older redhead noticed he was right. "It's only critical moves that actually cause pain and none of the monsters around here can do that. You need to remember that the most important thing is your initial motion input. "

Klein made his way back to his feet with a grunt, "That's easier said than done, that thing is moving around too much for me to even try!"

"It's all about timing. As long as you preform it correctly…" Naruto said as he reached down and picked up a rock before getting into a throwing stance. Klein could see the rock in Naruto's hand glow red for a few seconds before throwing it at the Frenzy Boar from behind, the rock soared fast at the boar and slammed into its ass. "The system will take care of the rest and you'll definitely hit your target."

"… Initial motion..." Klein mumbled to himself as he took a stance while he placed both hands on his sword.

The Frenzy Boar reacted quickly and turned to the three with a pissed off look on its face before charging at the closest one to it, which was a smirking Kirito who had his sword drawn. The black haired swordsman easily dodged the attack before blocking the boar as it turned around to attack again. "An easy way to look at it is that you add a slight pause as soon as you feel the skill begin to activate, drive it home as hard as you can."

"Drive it home…!" A look of realization appeared on Klein's face before as he took a stance with his sword placed over his shoulder and a few seconds later his sword start to glow.

Naruto grinned as he saw this and turned to Kirito, "I think he's got it now Kirito!"

"Perfect, let's see how you do!" Kirito said with a smiled as he parried the boar to the side and kicked it towards the positioned Klein. Klein in return let out a battle cry as he charge toward the boar, slashing it in half and reducing its health to zero before it exploded into glass.

"Alright!" Klein cheered after seeing the results of his attack, and the points he had gotten for winning.

"Congrats." Kirito said as he and Klein high-fived. The black haired swordsman sheathed his sword and placed a hand on his hip, "However, those Frenzy Boars are as weak as a slime from other games."

"Seriously!? I thought that was a midlevel boss or something!" Klein exclaimed but much to his disappointment Naruto pointed over to an empty field several yards away from them where more Frenzy Boars started to appear. "…Well that suck."

"If this game had monsters that were that weak, then it would get boring really fast." Naruto said as he and Kirito looked at the surrounding area. "While things are okay when easy, things can be a lot more fun when there are challenges."

"I guess that's true," Klein nodded his head in agreement before looking down at his sword. Going back into the position he had been in before he could feel the same sensation he had felt just as he attacked the boar, swinging his blade forward to release the skill that had built up, "So anyway, there are a lot of skills right? Like blacksmithing and stuff?"

Kirito nodded as he and Naruto watched Klein swing his sword around, moving into different positions with each swing. "Yeah, I heard there are unlimited numbers of skills, but there's no magical spells or anything like that."

"Man... to create an RPG without magic… That's a pretty bold decision to make!" Klein commented as he got into his first stance once again and charged his skill before slashing forward. After a few seconds, Klein's body started to tremble with excitement. "This is so awesome, being able to move my body like this is too cool!"

"Yeah, it's out of this world…" Naruto said with a sad smile before he started to walk off, leaving a somber Kirito and a confused Klein.

"… Was it something I said?" Klein asked as he turned to look at Kirito, who shook his head.

"I didn't find this out until later on, but in real life Naruto's legs are completely paralyzed…" Klein was surprised to hear that, turning his head to look at Naruto's back as he continued to walk. "Being able to play in a game like this with Full Diving is the closest he's had to walking in years, he says that doctors may be able to cure him in the future but that is still way off. But even with his condition he never lets things bother him, he's a strong person…"

"Hey, you guys!" Naruto shouted from a distance, making the two turn to look at him. The smile on his face was once again happy as he motioned to the monsters in the distance. "Are you two going to stand there all day or do you want to go hunting?"

"On our way!" Kirito shouted before turning to Klein, "So forgetting about the depressing stuff, you want to move on?"

Klein was quiet for a few second before he started to grin, getting a head start as he and Kirito started to run to where Naruto was standing. "Of course, let's get moving!"

(A Little While Later)

By the time the three had taken a break from fighting, the game's system had changed the day settings and shifted it into to a sun setting theme. The three of them sat near one of the cliffs and watched as the virtual sun's light spread throughout the area. The fields, the towns, the waterfalls, everything seemed to grow more beautiful by the second. Naruto and Klein was sitting near the edge of the cliffs with Naruto sitting right at the edge with his legs dangling over the side. Kirito was standing next to Klein with his arms crossed and a content look on his face.

"I still can't believe it, no matter how many time I see it..." Klein said as he watched the beautiful view in awe, catching sight of a few creatures flying in the distance. "We're inside a game... Whoever made this place is a freaking genius."

Naruto couldn't help but smile when he heard that, it was times like this that he was proud to be Akihiko's younger brother. There were times when he couldn't believe such things existed, going into the virtual world, meeting and making friends with people on the other side of the world, and fighting monsters with skills that normal people wouldn't have… Not including the people from where he was from, but they were ninjas that could control the elements and bend them to their will so it wasn't fair to compare them to the people in this world.

"It's really beautiful," Klein continued with grin as he leaned back into his hand, "This kind of thing makes me glad that I was born in this time."

Kirito shook his head with low chuckle. "You're making a big deal out of everything."

"Give me a break, it's my first time Full Diving!" Klein argued as he raised his arm and waved it in the air.

"So it's your first Full Dive…" Naruto turned his body around to face Klein, one of his legs still dangling over the edge. "So that means this is your first time ever playing with a NerveGear?"

"As soon as I could, I rushed out and bought the all hardware needed to play, I was pretty lucky to get one of the ten thousand copies available." Klein nodded his head while puffing out his chest before pointing at Kirito and Naruto, who rose up from his seat and stood next to his friend. "But you two are ten times luckier with getting the chance to Beta Test this game, it was something only a thousand people had the chance to be a part of."

Naruto and Kirito look at each other before shrugging at the same time, before Kirito spoke. "I guess we were."

"So how far did you two get in the beta?" Klein asked, really curious to hear how the two did against this game.

"Well, the highest we could get in a few months was Floor 8." Kirito answer.

Naruto grinned as he placed his hands on his hips, "But while it was hard in the Beta Testing, I have no doubt we'll get even higher in that time."

"We'll only need one month to easily get to Floor 8." Kirito was also grinning as he nodded his head in agreement.

"Huh... It seems like you two are really into this." Klein said in amusement as he watch the two bumped the back of their fists together.

"To be honest." Kirito took a few steps away from the two and unsheathed his sword. "During the beta test, SAO was the only thing I can think of day and night. Because in this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go." He stopped for a second as he stared up at his blade, "It's a virtual world, but still feel more alive than in the real world."

Naruto closed his eyes as he thought about what Kirito had said and while his friend was right about most of it, there were some things in the real world that could never be replaced the virtual one. This game was addicting because of its concept and being in a world where you could do almost anything, even he had to admit there were times he would want to stay in this world forever, but that wasn't how things were… He had two lives, both here and in the real world… and he truly loved being a part of both of them.

"Anyway," Kirito said as he placed his sword back in its sheath. "Want to hunt some more?"

Shaking his head a bit to clear his thoughts, Naruto punched one of his fists into his palm. "I'm game, let's kick some more monster ass!"

"Hell yeah!" Klein exclaimed with as he lifted himself up a bit, but his gaze went down as he held his stomach. "But to be honest… I'm starting to get really hungry, so I'm logging out."

"Eating food here only made you think you're full." Naruto pointed out as he recalled many times when he would eat in the game and be starving when he logged out.

"Ah... well, don't worry! I already order a hot pizza for 5:30!" Klein smirked as he turned to Kirito and Naruto.

Kirito couldn't help but feel a sweatdrop drop down the back of his head as he stared at the seated redhead. "Wow… you're so prepared."

"Of course! And after I finish eating I'm coming back to play some more." Klein said as he stood up, patting his pants for a second before turning to face his two new friends. "Hey guys, after I log back in I was gonna meet up with some people I know from another game. If you guys want, you can friend them too and we can all hang out."

Kirito silently looked away which caused Naruto to rub the back of his head with a sigh, his black haired friend could be such a loner sometimes. "That would be great, but maybe some other time Klein."

"Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to…" Klein could easily sense the awkwardness in the air, though it was mostly focused around Kirito. "It's okay, I'll introduce you two on a later time."

"Yeah, sorry." Kirito said with hints of guilt in his voice, his gaze falling to the ground. "Thanks anyway-" Suddenly he felt something hit the back of his head, making him turn to see Naruto giving him a look. "What the hell?!"

"… You really need to lighten up man," Naruto grunted as he turned to look at Klein. "We'll definitely meet them some time Klein, we just need to pick a good time for that to happen. Maybe after you and your friends get more used to this place."

"Yeah, you're probably right about that. But still, I owe you guys for helping me," Klein patted the two players on the shoulders, "I'll be sure to pay you back for your help someday, virtually that is."

"Of course." Kirito muttered in amusement while Naruto let out a laugh.

"But seriously you two, thanks for everything." Klein said as he extend his hand, to which Kirito accept it and shook his hand. He moved over to Naruto who simply held out his fist, before mirroring his actions and bumped his fist against the other redheads.

"If you or your friends have any question, just message me or Kirito." Naruto said with a grin.

"Yeah, we'll be here to help if you need it." Kirito was smiling as well as he crossed his arms.

Klein nodded his head with a smile, "Yeah! I'll be sure to do that, see ya guys later!" He turned around and walked away from the two, and then he heard the sound of something being hit.

"Ow, what was that for!?" Naruto's voice was heard.

"Now we're even." That was Kirito's only reply.

Klein only shook his head as he listen to the two as they started to argue, they were definitely a unique pair… With a downwards swipe of his hand to open his menu, he started looking down the menu for the logout button. "… What the hell?"

The made the two players behind him pause as they turned to look at him. Kirito was the first one to speak as they made their way next to Klein, "What's wrong?"

"There's no button to logout." Klein answered, not taking his gaze off the menu.

That made Naruto narrow his eyes as he came to a stop a few feet behind Klein, "It should be there at the bottom of the main menu, look closer."

"I don't see it anywhere." Klein replied making Kirito and Naruto look at each other before opening their own menus.

"It's right... Huh?" Kirito blinked a few times as he looked at the blank spot where the logout button usually was. "There isn't anything here…"

"See? Not there." Klein said as he turned to look at the two Beta Testers.

Naruto clicked the settings button and it instantly changed to the setting options, "The other buttons are working… what the hell is going on here?"

"Well, it just came out of the beta testing right?" Klein shrugged as he tried to play it cool, "The game are bound to have some bug, and I'm sure the server people are freaking out right about now."

"In a second you will be too." Kirito said with amusement in his eyes, which confused Klein until the black-haired swordsman pointed at the Aincrad local time clock. "It's 5:25 right now."

Klein quickly started to panic and let out a cry, "No! My teriyaki mayo pizza and ginger ale!"

"Just calm down and call the game master." Kirito said in a calm voice.

"I've already tried, but I'm getting no response nothing! Is there any other way to logout?" Klein asked as he turned to look at Kirito and Naruto.

Naruto turned and took a few steps away from the two, ignoring Klein as he tried various poses and different words to logout. _'This doesn't seem right… I know Akihiko and if anything he is thorough when it comes to his work. This kind of thing shouldn't have happened, and the other buttons in the menu are still working like usual…!?'_ Naruto let out a small gasp as a thought came to mind, one that he didn't want to be true. _'Is it possible… that this isn't a bug?! Then that means that someone deliberately did this… and I only know one person with this much control over the game…'_

Behind him, Kirito was explaining to Klein about the developers watching over the game and how they could forcibly log everyone out of the game if the issue was that major. "… But I don't get why they haven't made an announcement." The three players went silent as they tried to figure out what was going on, but it was quickly brought to a halt as the sound of the Town of Beginning's emergency bell was heard, making them turn towards the town just seconds before they were each covered in a flash of blue light.

(Town of Beginning's Center Plaza)

The next thing they knew, the three of them were standing in the Center Plaza, and players were being teleported into the area. Soon enough the entire plaza was filled with players. Naruto gritted his teeth a little as he kept close to Kirito and Klein, making sure not to lose either of them in the crowd. "That was a forced teleport."

"Just what the hell is going on… and why is everyone coming here?" Kirito muttered as he looked around at all the players that filled up the plaza. Everyone had the same looks of confusion on their faces as they looked around questioningly.

"Hey look, up there!" Someone said, making everyone look up to see a sign red warning sign which then spread across the sky. Blood-like ooze started to flow through the cracks and mold together to form a humanoid-like creature wearing a crimson robe that completely covered his face.

"Is that a game master?"

"Why doesn't he have face?"

"Is this an event?"

**"Welcome players to my world,"**The hooded figure said with his voice deep and booming, but even then Naruto knew who it was from the familiar voice.

"My world?" Kirito repeated in a whisper. "What does he mean by that?"

"**I am Akihiko Kayaba, and as of this moment, the only person who can control this world****," **The hooded figure greeted. Ever player's eyes went wide after they heard that, it was hard **_not_** to know who he was, after all he was the one who created the game they were playing.

"Is that really him?"

"That's some entrance."

**"I'm sure many of you are wondering about the logout button missing from the main menu."** Akihiko said while sliding his hand down to summon his own menu, presenting the missing button in question.** "I wish to tell you that this is not a defect in the game, but a key feature of Sword Art Online," **

"H-He's… kidding right? How can that be a feature?" Klein questioned as he and the others continued to look up at the large avatar above them.

"**You cannot log out of SAO, and no one from the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear,"**As Akihiko continued to speak, Naruto clenched his hands into fists. **"If one were to attempt to remove your NerveGear during gameplay…the NerveGear will send microwave signals into your brain and destroy it, ending your life here and in the real world."** Many players were shocked at the man's words, and voicing their complaints.

"What's he talking about? He's got to be insane, right guys?" Klein asked as he turned to look at his friends.

"He's right." Kirito answered not looking away from Akihiko's form, making Klein take a step back in shock. "The transmitter in the NerveGear works just like a microwave."

"If the safety were to be turned off, then it could easily fry the brain in an instant." Naruto continued, remembering some of the notes and information he had learned when reading about his brother's invention. "And we can't turn off the power to the NerveGear either, since it has an internal battery inside that can make it for a decent amount of time."

Klein shook his head as he tried to wrap his head around what was going on, "But this is just crazy!"

**"Unfortunately for some players, their family and friends have ignored my warnings… As of now, 213 people have died from this horrible fate and are gone forever, from both the virtual and real world."**Akihiko informed bringing up several screens filled with news coverages involving all the players that have died and various videos of families and friends breaking down crying.

"It can't be... that many already?" Naruto asked in shocked, before closing his eyes with a pain filled expression on his face. _'Akihiko… why… how could you do this…'_

"213..." Kirito whispered in disbelief.

"N-No way… I can't believe this!" Klein said while bringing a hand to his head.

"**The entire world news has already reporting this, including the deaths, thus you can assume the danger of NerveGear being remove is minimal. So relax and focus on beating the game."**Akihiko said calmly, not bothered at all by the many players staring up at him with scared looks.** "On a very important note, I want you to remember this clearly… there's no method to revive someone in this game. If your HP reaches zero, your avatar will be lost forever and the NerveGear will instantly destroy your brain."** The players can only stare up in silent shock at what Akihiko just calmly proclaimed, the minds of all the Beta Testers were filled with the many times they had died during the game's beta testing, including Naruto and Kirito.

"**There's only one mean to escape, and that is to complete the game. Currently you are all gathered together on the Floor 1, Aincrad's lowest level. If you can make your way through the dungeon and beat the Boss, you may advance to the next floor. You must continue doing this until you reach Floor 100 and defeat the final boss. And once you have done that, you will clear the game."**Akihiko explained as he summoned a map of Aincrad, showing the players what they would need to accomplish in order to survive and leave the game.

"Did he just say clear?"

"What is he talking about!?"

"Beat all 100 floors? That's impossible…" Klein muttered to himself as he looked at the floor before snapping his head up, "Not even the Beta Tester made it that far!" Kirito and Naruto only stared up at Akihiko's form in silence, though Naruto's fists were clenching hard.

**"And finally, I've provided a present to all of your inventories. Please have a look."**

Almost instantly everyone opened their menus to see that there was indeed a new item in their storage. Naruto clicked on the item and a mirror appeared in his hands, "A mirror?"

"What's this mirror for?" Kirito questioned as he too summoned a mirror.

"Aagh!?" The two turned towards Klein as the man suddenly let out a scream and saw that he was covered by a blue flash of light, they didn't have time to think about it however as the other players were covered by it as well, and then them. The whole area was blinded by the flashes of light, but once the light had disappeared, everything changed.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto muttered as he shook his head to get the blurriness out of his sight.

"Hey Kirito, Naruto… Are you guys okay?" Kirito and Naruto turned to see a man wearing Klein's clothes, but this guy had a different face and shorter red hair.

"Who are you?" Kirito asked.

"I'm me… And who are you two?" The man asked, making Kirito and Naruto look at their respective mirrors and were shocked to see their real faces were reflecting from the mirrors instead of their avatars. They turned to look at each other and study each other's appearances. In Kirito's place was a teenager wearing his clothes but he had short black hair and black eyes, and he was now shorter than Naruto.

Naruto reached up and pulled some of his hair down low enough for him to see, and sure enough it was his normal blond hair. "If I've returned to my normal appearance, then that must mean… Klein?!"

"That means you're Naruto, and you're Kirito!" Klein exclaimed as he pointed at both of them, "But how...?"

"It's because of the NerveGear, it covers your entire face with a high-density scan once you put it on. Because of that it can see what the face looks like." Naruto explained as he thought back to when he placed on the NerveGear.

"But... our height and bodyweight?" Kirito questioned as he looked as his body, it had copied it to the last detail.

"When we use the NerveGear, it had us do this calibration thing right? You had to touch your body all over like this." Klein answered as he patted his arms as an example.

"That's right... To think his device could copy physical data like this..." Naruto said before looking down at his legs, it was a blessing that he still retained the ability to walk even with the changes.

"But why? What would be the point of this?" Klein scratched his head from the confusion he was feeling.

"I'm sure he'll tell us." Kirito answered while pointing up towards Akihiko.

"**Right now, you're probably wondering, "Why?" Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do all of this?"** Akihiko Kayaba's avatar spoke in his usual calm voice, **"I created Sword Art Online for one reason and one reason only… To create a world and have complete control over it. And now, I've achieved that goal.**"

"… Akihiko…" Naruto whispered as he stared hard up at the figure that was his older brother.

**"This now concludes the tutorial of Sword Art Online and marks its official launch… Good luck, players."** Akihiko's avatar started to disappear in a flurry of red mist and blood-like ooze returned up into the panels above it, once the liquid and mist completely disappeared the sky returned back to normal.

'_Akihiko… after all these years I've learned to tell when he was lying or bending the truth… but this wasn't anything like that._' Naruto thought as he clenched a fist as hard as he could, _'It was all true, every single word.'_

Meanwhile Kirito looked at his right hand, visualizing a paper-cut he had gotten in the real world a few minutes before entering the game, '_This is real…The genius who created the NerveGear and created a completely virtual space, Kayaba Akihiko. After being a fan of his for so long, I can tell that everything he just said was true. If I die in the game, I'll die in real life!'_

The silence surrounding the area was broken as the sound of a dropped mirror shattering was heard, and then followed by a scream. This seemed to snap everyone out of their stupors and within a few seconds, everyone started to panic.

"Screw you!"

"Let me out! Let me out of here!"

"I can't stay here! I have a meeting after this!"

"What are you thinking?!"

Kirito nudged Naruto to get his attention, to which the blond turned and followed his friend's gaze to one of the entrances that had opened up. The two nodded to each other before turning to a still stunned Klein, both of them grabbing a shoulder as they pulled him out of the plaza before anyone noticed. "W-What the-!"

"Just follow us." That was all Kirito said before he and Naruto dragged out Klein to one of the deserted streets, stopping at an alleyway leading to the town's exit. "Okay, listen to me Klein, we're heading to the next village right now. We want you to come."

"Huh?"

"If what he said is true, and there is no doubt in my mind that it is, then the only way to survive is by making ourselves as strong as possible." Naruto explained as he summoned a map of the first floor, there were several red dots on it that symbolized the other towns. "The resources within a virtual MMORPG, the money and EXP we can earn here are limited. The fields surrounding the Town of Beginnings will soon be hunted clean."

"That's why we should head to the next village now and then we should have an easier time collect points, getting cash and getting stronger." Kirito continued as he looked at the map Naruto had up, "Naruto and I know the best paths that will be the least dangerous, and even at our current levels we can get there easily."

"Well thanks Kirito… but you see, I spent the whole night in line to buy this game with those friends I was telling you guys about." Klein looked back at the direction of the plaza, "They're definitely back there in the plaza… I can't leave them." Kirito and Naruto looked at each other silently, they both knew that if they were to bring more people with them it would be dangerous for all of them. But before anything could be said Klein spoke up, "Sorry, but I can hardly ask you guys for anything else, so don't worry about me. You two get your asses to the next village. I used to run a guild to my last game so I'll be fine, and I can use what you guys taught me to get by no-sweat."

Naruto had a hesitant look on his face for a few seconds before turning away, "A-Alright then, if you need any help be sure message us. No matter how bad a jam it seems, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Klein nodded his head slowly.

"Well… This is goodbye Klein, see you later." Kirito said as he turned as well and both Beta Testers started walking away.

"Kirito! Naruto!" The two boys stopped after a few feet, neither turning back to look at Klein. "You know… you both look much better like this, a lot cooler than your avatars."

Naruto and Kirito smiled at that, and the later turned to flash Klein a grin, "And that unkempt, scruffy face of yours suits you ten time better than the one you had before." The two once again started to make their way down the alleyway, Kirito taking one last glance back and saw that Klein had already left.

"Kirito…" The black-haired teen turned to his friend, who didn't turn to look at him, "… I really don't like goodbyes."

"… Yeah, I agree… Let's go." And with that the two of them took off in a run and they kept running, passing the deserted streets, the town's exit and made it onto the path towards the next town. A lot of things were going through Kirito's head, the real world, the virtual world, his sister and mother… and one last thing. "Naruto! We have to keep going, we will survive this world!"

"Of course we are!" Naruto cry back as he and Kirito were running side by side, his own mind having a rush of thoughts. _'Brother… I don't know why you're doing this, but I will find out, and I will take anything this world has to throw at me! I'm no longer that scared child I was back then…'_

A little further down the path, two wolves appear in front of them, ready to attack them. But its presence didn't bother them in the least as they drew their swords. They continued to run as they positioned their blades into the correct places and let their skills charge. The wolves both let out howls before charging forward, their claws and teeth poised to strike.

_'I will…'_ Naruto started in his mind as his blade glowed brightly from its position in a reverse grip in his hand.

_'I will…'_ Kirito had the same thoughts going through his mind as he felt his sword skill finished charging. In an instant Naruto and Kirito had cut the wolves in half, before continuing to run, the wolves behind them exploded before they even hit the floor.

**"SURVIVE!"**

**NKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAYNKAY**

_Here we go, the first chapter to my newest creation. I've been thinking about doing a NarutoXSword Art Online crossover for a while now.__So like always with all my works be sure to leave some nice reviews, but remember that all flames and insults will be IGNORED, so don't bother writing them. I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter and I hope to see you again._

_A/N:__ I am going to put up a poll on my profile for who Naruto gets paired up with in this story, it will either be Suguha or Asuna. And to be perfectly honest I can write with either girl so I will leave it up to you guys. The poll will go until the end of the Ghost arc, and if Asuna is the winner of that poll then I will do another poll for who is paired up with Kirito._

_A/N 2:__ The next story I will be working on if my Golden Devil story._

_Until Next Time!_


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